The Salad Fraud……

I was never a salad person, always made fun of the salad eaters and the ghaas phoos gang. It was always so annoying to spend ages chewing like a goat or cow, my jaws always hurt and there was never a sense of fulfilment that one usually encounters when you actually eat meat 🙂

One day, however, something happened , no idea how, where and why ( psssttt….a little bird called aditi probably 😉 , but I found myself in the midst of a salad workshop, organising and thinking and soon little ideas took shape and my fantasies of butter chicken ,  lamb rogan josh and chilly pork divine were replaced by the colourful medley of a mixed vegetable salad, resplendent with pearl barley and quinoa!!!

The salad workshop was a super hit. Below are the salad recipes, all of them divine and easy to make.

Hope these come in handy and you enjoy making them just like I did 🙂

 My Grape fruit and orange salad with ginger and red chilly dressing

This is a special favourite of mine. I always believe in the saying that you first feast with your eyes and eat with your mouth later!!! Theses one of those moments…..Make this and you will have your guests eating out of your hands forever!!!!

And I mean it :)))

Layer slices of grapefruit, large sized orange, kiwi fruit and small oranges. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds and sliced red onions.
Dressing: 3 portions olive oil, 1 portion balsalmic vinegar, half a lemon, 1 tbsp honey, salt, pepper, fine chopped ginger, red chillies
Shake well

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Niyati bowled us over with her selection of salads, simple but very impressive. The beauty is in experiencing each and every flavour rather than combining lots of flavours together. Loved them all ,especially the courgette salad!!!

Niyati’s Beetroot, baby spinach and goat’s cheese salad

Niyati’s Beetroot, baby spinach and goat’s cheese salad

Marinate sliced beetroot in walnut oil honey lemon salt and pepper dressing

Serve on spinach/rocket/mixed leaves , add crumbled goats cheese and toasted walnut or mixed seeds.

Drizzle the dressing

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Niyati’s Caprese salad

Insalata Caprese ( salad of Capri) is usually served as an antipasti ( starter) and is meant to resemble the Italian Flag.

Love the simplicity and flavours.

Whole Ripe Tomatoes, Sliced Thick
Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Thick
Fresh Basil Leaves
Olive Oil and balsamic vinegar For Drizzling
Sea Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Arrange tomato with mozzarella slices on top in a platter. Arrange basil leaves on top.

Drizzle olive oil balsamic dressing with salt and pepper over the top of the salad, getting a little bit on each slice.

Alternate halve plum/cherry tomatoes and mozarrela pearls arrange on spinach/salad leaves as individual servings.

Drizzle same dressing

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Niyati’s stuffed peppers with cheese

4 courgettes
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 red chilli
½ clove garlic (optional)
1 handful of fresh mint
extra virgin olive oil
1 squeeze lemon juice

1. Prepare the courgettes using the vegetable peeler and place into the serving bowl.

2. To make the dressing, squeeze the lemon juice, and mix with 3 parts more of olive oil. Grate the garlic finely, and add the chilli and mint. Season to taste.

3. Dress the courgettes and combine together well.

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Sraboni’s Vietnamese Salad recipe: 

OK, now this salad deserves special mention because it was the first time I was experiencing such flavours and ingredients too. Just loved it. Will be a permanent feature in my culinary journey now.

Dressing – light soy sauce generous proportion 
1 spoon sugar
1/2 sp mushroom powder
Lemon juice 

Chinese cabbage, Leek fried, Basil chinese, coriander, mint, Peanuts

Mix well

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Krishna’s Mixed Beans Salad

Loved the fresh flavours of this salad and more importantly the flamboyance and style with which it was presented. Totally won us over. Just realised that even a small flower here or there, or a simple crust of bread makes all the difference.

1 can mixed beans , 1 red pepper, chopped, 1 bunch green onions, chopped1 stalk celery, finely chopped, 1 small red onion finely chopped, ¼ Beetroot finely sliced.

Mix all ingredients a big salad bowl and keep in the refrigerator

Dressing:1/4 cup olive oil 2 T. wine vinegar (I used white-wine vinegar) Juice from half a lime (or 2-3 T.) 1/4 tsp. salt 1-2 tbs RedHot wings Buffalo sauce,1 tsp – Red chili flakes.

Mix dressing in a separate jam jar, and pour over beans salad.Serve salad mix on delicate inner leaves of romaine hearts, sprinkle some fresh lentil sprout mix and freshly clicked dwarf basil leaves.

Voila!Bon Appétit!!

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Aditi’s papaya and mango salad

Another quick and amazing salad with an explosive array of flavours that will leave your taste buds tingling for a long time 🙂

Raw papaya grated in thin strips

Raw mango

Raw carrots 
Some red onions 

Dressing 

In a mortel grind 2 pods of garlic with red chillies as per taste , add freshly squeezed lemon juice with palm sugar , keep grinding to maximize the flavours and salt to taste ! 
Add fish sauce , if u are allowed , i omitted it as many vegetarians 

Then mix with the salad , add crushed peanuts and garnish with coriander  

I love this with stir fried prawns coated in corn flour salt and pepper !

Many thanks to Aditi Gupte, Krishna Thakur, Niyati Shah and Srasboni Dasgupta for showing us these recipes.